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Title: This Is My God by Herman Wouk ISBN: 0-316-95514-0 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 15 April, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.83 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best books about Orthodox Judaism
Comment: In 1959, Orthodox Judaism was a dinosaur. Its members didn't have to fight against being arrogant as they must do today. It took a great deal of Chutzpah for Herman Wouk to write this book where he discusses and then dismisses Reform and Conservative Judaism in a chapter. Without rancor or overt criticism he discusses these movements within Judaism but he doesn't accept them as Judaism.
That said, this is an excellent book on what Judaism means in regards to marriage, history, Israel, prayer, observance, Torah, Talmud, kashrut and study. He writes in a clear concise style concerning the daily life of an observant Jew as well as the history that went into it. Many times he argues for the education of young Jewish children in Judaism (taking issue with the refrain "they can choose it when they grow up" since it is easy to reject what you've learned but hard to learn something you should have learned when you were a child.) and against the rising tide of assimilation. He tells personal stories about studying Talmud with his grandfather and his time fighting in World War II. One particularly amusing one is how he was disappointed to learn that "an eye for an eye" meant compensatory damage payments as it was one of his best arguments for rejecting observance altogether at age 14 when he would have rather gone to Saturday afternoon movies.
A caveat in that if you are an observant Jew, you will probably not learn much from this book. This is the book that rabbis have conversion candidates read in order to make sure that everyone has a good idea as to what is going to happen if the conversion goes through. This is a great book for non-observant Jews and Jews who consider themselves Reform or Conservative, as Wouk has a talent for saying potentially explosive perspectives with enough humility and candor that you aren't personally insulted if you disagree. This is also a good book for non-Jews wanting to know what Judaism is all about.
What makes this book exceptional is that Herman Wouk's perspective is becoming a rare voice in Orthodoxy. Orthodox Judaism is increasingly moving to the right partly as a reaction to the intermarriage and assimilation of the liberal movements within Judaism, partly as a sign of formerly non-observant Jews becoming observant and finding distaste in their old lives.
Wouk's perspective was probably a standard voice in 1950s Judaism, but it is one that is not heard often enough in today's Judaism that finds itself pulled between the stark limiting observance of the Haredi and the "whatever-you-think-is-right-is-right" lassez faire of the Reform (including the Renewelists and Reconstructionists). It is easy to condemn. It takes effort to reach out without rancor or snap judgement as Wouk does in this book. This is what makes Wouk's book valuable to people who already know the material
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderful introduction to Judaism
Comment: Well written, engaging, and comprehensive but concise, this introduction to Judaism (from an Orthodox perspective) can be read straight through like a novel or used for reference. It includes every topic you'd want in an introduction: the Sabbath, the High Holy Days, kosher rules, the Torah, the Talmud, Hasidism, Israel, and so forth. Wouk's obvious love of Judaism is contagious, even to non-Jewish readers like me.
One warning: When I read this for a class on Judaism at a Christian seminary, some students had trouble getting by the extravagantly non-gender-inclusive language. I personally can deal with masculine language for all humanity in books more than a few decades old (this was first published in 1957), but when Wouk assumes that all of his readers are male, as when he refers to the reader's beard (I'm female)--well, it's almost too funny to be offensive.
In any case, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5
Summary: Judaism for everyone
Comment: A formidable book, written for everyone, from the pious Chassidim who seems to know all about Judaism to the secular Wall Street Jewish Banker who is far from his faith but feels every now and then the sweet but stern internal calling of his demanding heritage
The best chapters,in my opinion, are related to the experiences related to the secular Jewish people when they got involved in the Jewish religious rituals at the synagogue or at home during childhood, "one feels like he is telling ones own experiences when he was a Jewish kid' so unexplained and uneasy situations at that time become hilarious
Generally speaking, Wouk, who is observant, tried to be very open avoiding dogma and intended to convey to the Jewish reader the precious value of his 4000 years heritage and a way to learn how to feel proud about it.
Wouk did not forget the non-Jewish reader either, he wrote this book with simple concepts and language so anyone interested about Judaism can get a good basic introduction through these pages
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Title: The Will to Live On : This is Our Heritage by Herman Wouk ISBN: 0060955627 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 19 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life by Hayim Halevy Donin, Norman Lamm ISBN: 0465086322 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: October, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Becoming a Jew by Maurice Lamm ISBN: 0824603508 Publisher: Jonathan David Pub Pub. Date: December, 1991 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism by Dennis Prager, Joseph Telushkin ISBN: 0671622617 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 21 April, 1986 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: To Pray As a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service by Hayim Halevy Donin ISBN: 0465086330 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: September, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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